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Home > First Year > Choosing Organic Baby Products That Won't Break the Bank

Choosing Organic Baby Products That Won't Break the Bank

by Ashley Garay on December 19, 2012

Ashley Garay

About the Author

Ashley Garay is a youngish mom of two and stepmom of one who juggles parenting, working from home, and homeschooling while trying her best to live naturally and simply. She has had her nose in a book and a pen in her hand her whole life, but first dipped her toes into the professional writing world in 2010 writing for eHow. In her free time, Ashley enjoys practicing yoga and reading but always loves to finish the day snuggled up with her kids.

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

You obviously want the best for your baby, so it can be frustrating when you feel like the best is out of your price range. Organic baby products can be better for your baby in the sense that they likely won't contain toxins, but you can still feel good about buying certain items organic even if you can't afford all of them. Choose the organic items that fit your budget, and try not to stress about the rest.

At the top of my list as most important to buy organic, especially for my baby, is food. I don't buy all organic, because that isn't financially sustainable either, but I do try to adhere to at least purchasing organic for the food on the Dirty Dozen list, plus dairy and eggs. I won't go crazy if my little one munches on a conventionally farmed apple or green bean, but I do believe it is always best to choose organic food when possible, particularly when babies are very young and more susceptible to toxins. I admit that I did make all my own baby food, mostly out of organic fruits and veggies, but you can easily find organic baby food pre-made in your regular grocery store now as well for not too much more money than the regular baby food.

Since babies don't discern well between food and non-food items, most everything ends up in their mouths. When I looked for toys for my kids, I always checked that they were safe: no choking hazards and made from safe materials. Again, I didn't buy all organic since it was costly, but I was generally willing to give up buying piles of toys in order to own mostly organic, natural-material toys when I knew it would mostly end up in my babies' mouths.

Lotions, soaps, and body washes don't generally end up in baby's mouth, but they are absorbed through their skin and are therefore pretty high up on my list of organic baby product necessities. In fact, sometimes I went totally natural and just skipped them altogether. Very young babies actually don't need to be washed with soaps on a regular basis; plain water is fine unless they are particular dirty or sweaty. Likewise, baby lotions can easily be replaced with coconut oil if baby has dry skin and otherwise can just be skipped altogether.

I ended up having to pass on organic baby clothes, blankets, sheets, and mattresses. I decided that I needed to spend my limited funds on the organic baby products that were most important to me. Even though I wish my babies could be surrounded by a perfectly pure and healthy environment all the time, all I can do is my best to keep them healthy and happy, even on a small budget.